Swami Vivekananda Biography: Life, Teachings and Legacy
Born Narendranath Datta, on January 12, 1863 in Calcutta (today’s Kolkata in West Bengal), Swami Vivekananda was an Indian monk, religious teacher, philosopher, author and speaker. He introduced Vedanta and Yoga to people of the West and played an important role in giving Hinduism the status of a major world religion. Student of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna and founder of the Ramkrishna Mission and Ramkrishna Math, two very popular organizations actively working in social service and education, Swami Vivekananda was a highly influential philosopher, social reformer and patriotic saint. Let’s take a peek into his life and work in this biography.
Early Life and Background
Vivekananda came from a traditional Bengali Kayastha family and was one of the 9 children born to Vishwanath Datta (father), an attorney at the Calcutta High Court and Bhubaneswari Devi (mother), who was a housewife. Vivekananda’s birthname Narendranath was shortened to Naren or Narendra. His father was a progressive thinker while his mother was religious. They shaped Narendra’s personality.
Education and Early Interests
He was inclined to spirituality since a young age. He practiced meditation and was interested in ascetics. As a child he was mischievous. He was enrolled at Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar’s Metropolitan Institution, at age eight. Here he went to school till 1877. In 1879, he and his family returned to Calcutta and received first-division marks in the Presidency College Entrance exam. Narendranath was fond of reading and interested in Hindu scriptures. He received education in Indian classical music and took an active part in sports. He studied Western logic, western philosophy and European history at the General Assembly’s Institution (today’s Scottish Church College). In 1881, he passed the Fine Arts exam and in 1884, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. He was known for his exceptional memory and in some texts, has been referred to as shrutidhara (someone with prodigious memory). There are accounts of him having quoted multiple pages from books out of memory, and of having completed reading many big books in very less time.
Spiritual Inclinations and Influences
In 1880, Narendra joined Keshab Chandra Sen’s Nava Vidhan. Sometime before 1884, he took membership of Freemasonry Lodge. In his twenties, he took membership of Sadharan Brahmo Samaj. From 1881 to 1884, he took active part in Sen’s Band of Hope which aimed at pulling the youth away from smoking and drinking. Due to Sen, Vivekananda was introduced to western esotericism, and could meet Ramakrishna. Perhaps, they first met in 1881, when Ramakrishna asked Narendra to sing and impressed by his talent, invited him to Dakshineshwar. Their meeting proved to be a life-changing event for Narendra. Initially, he objected and questioned Ramakrishna’s ideas of idol worship, polytheism and Advaita Vedanta, and argued with him but Ramakrishna would patiently answer.
Meeting with Ramakrishna
In 1884, Narendra’s father died leaving him bankrupt. During this tough time dealing with the loss of his father and his declining financial condition due to the inability to find any source of earning, he used to visit Ramakrishna and find it soothing. Once he asked Ramakrishna to pray for his financial stability, but Ramakrishna asked him to visit Kali temple and pray for himself. On visiting the temple, he could not pray for materialistic pleasures, but sought instead, true knowledge and gradually got ready to forego everything to gain a real understanding of God. He accepted Ramakrishna as his spiritual master.
Leadership Role
In 1885, after Ramakrishna was diagnosed with throat cancer, he shifted to a house in Cossipore, where Narendra took care of his teacher and also pursued spiritual education. Here he experienced Nirvikalpa Samadhi. Ramakrishna announced Narendra as their future leader. He died on August 16, 1886. After this, many of his disciples adopted the grihasta way of life; and Narendra and other disciples had to find a new place to stay. He decided to convert an old house at Baranagar into a new Math, the first building of Ramakrishna Math, where Narendra and other disciples spent time in meditation and religious practices.
Travel Across India as well as the West
In 1886, Narendra was invited to Antpur village, where he took monastic vows at the Radha Gobinda Jiu Temple and decided to live as their master lived. Here he took the name Swami Vivekananda. From 1888 to 1893, he travelled across India, met people from various religions and introduced himself to varied social and religious traditions. He lived on alms and walked or travelled in a train, to many places in India. Moved by the poverty in the country, he resolved to work towards uplifting the Indian society.
On May 31, 1893, Vivekananda started traveling to the West. He visited Japan, China and Canada and reached Chicago on July 30, 1893. In September that year, Parliament of Religions was held over there. It was an initiative to create a global dialogue of faiths. Later Vivekananda was called upon to speak at Harvard University, and his speech impressed the listeners. On September 11, 1893, he gave a speech representing India and Hinduism where he started with ‘ Sisters and Brothers of America’. For this introduction, he received a 2-minute standing ovation. At that time, his oratory skills and deep knowledge caught media attention, and he was recognized as an excellent speaker and the greatest figure in the Parliament of Religions.
For almost 2 years, Vivekananda lectured in several regions of Eastern and Central United States. He established the Vedanta Society of New York in 1894. Later he gave private lectures to his students. In 1895, he met Margaret Elizabeth Noble who later came to be known as Sister Nivedita. He met some Indologists in the next some time. He was given academic positions in two American universities which he refused to take, believing that this role would conflict with his work as a monk. He created the ‘four yogas’ model and published a book Raja Yoga which was a best-seller.
Return to India and Social Reforms
In 1895, Vivekananda started the periodical Brahmavadin to teach Vedanta. During his stay in Europe, he engaged in social service while also corresponding with his followers in India. On December 30, 1896, he started his return journey to India from Naples. He reached Colombo in January 1897, where he gave his first public speech in the East. He quickly gained popularity among the common masses who waited for him to speak. In India, he talked about eradicating the caste system, promoting science and industrialization, and removing poverty. His lectures were published in ‘Lectures from Colombo to Almora’. On May 1, 1897, Vivekananda established the Ramakrishna Mission for social service. Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission are headquartered in Belur Math. He also established two monasteries in India. He mediated an ideological conflict in Punjab, visited Lahore, Delhi and Khetri, then returned to Calcutta in January 1898.
Vivekananda’s health was declining, but he left for the West for one more time in June 1899. After staying in England, he went to the USA. There he established Vedanta Societies in San Francisco and New York and founded a Shanti ashram in California. In 1900, he went to Paris for the Congress of Religions. There he lectured about worshipping the lingam and about the Bhagavad Gita. In December 1900, he returned to Calcutta, visited the Advaita Ashrama, and settled in Belur Math. Many celebrated figures visited him.
On July 4, 1902, Vivekananda woke up early, practiced meditation, lectured his students, discussed the establishment of a Vedic College in the Ramakrishna Math, retired to his room in the evening and died a silent death while meditating. He died at 9.20 am and the reason for his death was reported as the rupture of a blood vessel in the brain. His followers believe that he attained Mahasamadhi. He was cremated on the banks of the Ganga opposite of the cremation site of Ramakrishna.
Philosophy and Contributions
He advocated the idea of seeing the divine in everyone, as he believed it could lead to social harmony and love. He believed that the divine, the absolute exists in every individual despite his social status. He was a strong proponent of the Advaita Vedanta philosophy. He emphasized nirvikalpa samadhi and considered samadhi as a way to achieve liberation. Owing to him, the term involution gained popularity.
According to him, morality is related to mind control, and truth, purity and unselfishness are some qualities that strengthen it. He believed that brahmacharya helps with stamina and strength. He asked his followers to have faith and be holy and unselfish. He propagated the concept of nationalism, & believed that a country’s people decide its future and his primary focus was on human development.
Vivekananda was one of the most influential philosophers and social reformers and a highly successful missionary of Vedanta. Eminent people like Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore and Subhash Chandra Bose admired his work. Swami Vivekananda’s lectures and speeches have been compiled into written works. His birthday January 12 is celebrated as the National Youth Day.
What better way to conclude Swami Vivekananda’s biography than quoting some of his golden words that sum up his philosophy of life. He said, “You have to grow from inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher but your own soul.”